The Globalization of the Food System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Globalization of the Food System - Essay Example The majority of the countries around the globe appear to be headed in a similar direction in terms of globalization of food (Inglis and Gimlin 110). There are different circumstances that affect the food security of different nations and in different ratios. Their impacts on the populations health also differ greatly. Many new countries are currently joining the process as a result of the fiscal and political reforms in their countries. These include nations such as South Africa, India, Columbia and many more around the globe (Ronald, 75). For example, the Colombian government eliminated tariffs on imports, which led to an increase in the nation’s imports. These imports have in turn impacted the livestock sector positively since their livestock always have enough food to eat. Since the year 1990, the supply along with the demand of food has been changing gradually. This has brought about the sprout and expansion of supermarkets across the globe, so as to supply the demands of consumers. The demand for food is increasing due to the increase in cases of urbanization around the globe along with the ease of accessibility of refrigeration facilities. The supply of food across the globe has greatly been advanced as a result of more freedoms in the market, investments from foreign nations and improvements made in technology (Behnassi, Draggan and Sanni 67). Urbanization has caused changes in the eating habits of the people along with changes in their health. By the year 2001, about 48% of the world’s population was living in urban areas, which included 76% of the people in first world countries. It is also estimated that 40% of the populations living in third world countries live in urban centers. Research from different scholars suggests that people excessively flock to urban centers due to poverty and the need to feed their families. This leads the urban centers becoming centers of scarcity since food and other resources are limited. Other researchers suggest that excessive poverty in the rural areas causes people to migrate to urban areas to have better living standards. The food situation in developing nations has worsened, and this is due to the fact that there is inequality in the trading opportunities countries get. The food situation in many developing nations is also adversely being affected by various issues. These issues include the dumping of exports in these countries by developed nations, the lack of subsidies by their governments on agricultural activities and the use of tariffs, which are unfair. Most agriculturally productive areas in the rural areas have also been destroyed thus endangering the peoples food security. This in turn reduces the people’s returns from agricultural activities (Behnassi, Draggan and Sanni123). Changes in the dietary habits of the people living in urban areas leads to poor health and nutrition among them. Previous studies carried out suggest that countries with most people living i n urban areas have greater GDP’s than those with fewer people. These issues also affect the mortality rate among the infants in a nation. Countries having greater GDP’s tend to experience greater communal and fiscal inequalities (Vaidya 157). Globalization of the food system has brought changes to the people’s diet. This has been influenced by the changes in the people’s incomes and the prices charged for the products. The prices and incomes of the people influence the availability and delivery